Why would the average engineer want to create and use a virtual machine on their laptop or workstation? After all, usually an engineer has a perfectly good machine to work with, right? That may be true. Perhaps the engineer may even have access to more than one...
Requirements/Test Management
How does the Windows Phone 8 Kool-Aid Taste?
I’m just going to come out and say it: I drank the Windows Phone 8 Kool-Aid. My coworkers mock me, and I accept this. But darn it, I want to believe! (and it tastes a lot better than what I was drinking before.) And it's certainly better than if I wandered over to the...
7 Ways to Fight Feature Creep
I was recently involved in a project in which the goal was to streamline and automate a manual software deployment process using Electric Cloud's product ElectricCommander. The Scope of Work was laid out, development was underway, and my coworker and I felt very...
Is the Cloud the Best for Application Management Services?
As the push towards the cloud continues, the inertia of its popularity can leave CTOs with the impression that the world is black and white with only two options: in the cloud or not in the cloud. The nuances and diversity of solutions can therefore be lost in the...
Troubleshoot Common Application & Network Issues with tcpdump
Here's a common situation: you manage an application; you haven't gone through a release; no patches have been applied (to your knowledge); and the infrastructure guys say that they haven't touched the network in ages. But a user calls, and to your...
Improve your build, test and deployment with ElectricCommander
Repeatability is a intuitive aspect of daily life. If you throw a ball up, it must come down. If you throw it twenty times, the same thing will happen, up and then down. When repeatability doesn't occur we get anxious. Repeatability is equally an essential quality in...
ElectricCommander Custom Dashboards: How to Visualize Your Build Data
Whenever I get a chance to see any kind of motor racing I am amazed at how many displays the engineers use to watch and monitor all the data coming from the cars. Modern performance racing cars produce a lot of data about the engine, tires, fuel consumption,...
Why an Automated Development Process Benefits Developers
Automated development, rather than just automated builds, offers a more holistic approach to automating the development process including building, testing and deployment. It is the cornerstone of Continuous Integration (CI). CI uses a model of small incremental...
5 Minutes with Windows 8 and Office 2013
Dell Latitude ST This is the Dell Latitude ST, which can be had from the Dell Outlet store for about $300. It’s a 10-inch tablet slate running an Atom Z670 and 2GB of RAM – like a Netbook without a keyboard. Instead, it has an N-trig digitizer that supports both...
How to Create a Silent Installer for ANSYS 14
I'm a huge fan of automation, especially when it comes to installing software. With a simple one-click solution, you can setup software on a user's workstation with little or no impact on your work load. In fact, you don't even need to do the installation -- users can...
Blog: Leveraging PTC’s Integrity Platform for IEC 62304 Compliance
SPK and Associates leverage PTC’s Integrity platform to help Medical Device companies develop software efficiently while achieving IEC 62304 compliance.
Do you Think an Engineering Employee is Really Cheaper Than a Consultant? … Think Again.
Occasionally I’ll get a comment from a potential client who is particularly price sensitive about the rates for our consultants, and the comment usually goes something like: “I can hire a full-time employee who would cost me a lot less than what you are going to...